1. Be careful about needlessly long titles, particularly ones loaded with separate phrases. They’re typically less inviting to prospective readers and harder for people to remember. Unusually bizarre titles, like Saddam Hussein and the Hippies from Space, have more latitude here. (Regardless of length, they will be memorable).

2. If your title does not appeal to prospective readers, start over! Some words that rarely mean much to prospective readers include fictional character and place names. Alternately, some authors use puns. If the reader immediately makes prospective readers smile, fine. If readers will only understand the pun after reading the work, they won’t ever find out how witty the pun is… because they won’t open the book.

3. Words unfamiliar to prospective readers are not typically effective. “But The Legend of Bjornistan will really draw readers!” Unless the audience is Bjornistani, it definitely won’t.

4. Avoid words that tell a prospective reader something he already knows. In particular, words like “story” (book, tale, legend, chronicle, ballad, myth, fable and the like) are spectacularly ineffective. Your readers can see it’s a book, so telling them it’s a story is probably an insult to their intelligence. Two exceptions: comedic effect or conveying information that might not be otherwise obvious. For example, a word like “autobiography” or “memoir” may tell us something we didn’t know before.

5. I think it’s generally effective to name chapters. If your chapters aren’t titled, your table of contents will look this bland:

–Chapter One: 1

–Chapter Two: 25

Readers will see this page before the story, and it’s more boring than professional blackjack. In contrast, a list of chapters with interesting titles may show off your style and entice readers to keep going.

1. Don’t Vote! (It Only Encourages Them): 1

2. The Empire State Strikes Back: 25

3. A Hurricane of Coconuts: 47

Are you wondering what I can do with a chapter called “A Hurricane of Coconuts”? Then you’ll probably make it to chapter 3.

“Extreme Team: Chain Reactions” –> What’s the target audience for this? “Extreme Team” might be effective if you’re going for kids (say, somewhere between 5-13 years old). But it strikes me as a very different tone than “Chain Reactions,” which is more clinical and serious.

“Jake Versus the Blazing Baroness” –> I think this could use more style and say more about the plot and setting. Jake strikes me as a sort of bland name and the Blazing Baroness sounds 1940ish to me. This title fits a premise where “a schoolchild becomes an unlikely hero to fight the Nazis,” like Captain Marvel, but I don’t know if that’s what you’re going for.

Are we talking about the story with Jake and Karnak? If so, I’m not sure the title fits the story all that well. For example…
–The characters are adults that are a lot closer to SWAT officers than schoolboys.
–The setting is gritty and highly sci-fi (futuristic, with aliens).
–I don’t think that “Jake” tells us much interesting about the character or story. Over the course of the first few chapters he gets released from a prison for superpowered inmates, gets drafted into something like an elite police force, and engages in several firefights with streetgangs. You may be able to describe him better with a vocational noun or noun phrase that describes what sort of things he does over the course of the book.

I didn’t think of it like that. You’ve seen my entries on list of superpowers, right? It’s that novel. I started out with just five of the characters, and a totally different (and a lot less interesting) plot, and some of them with totally different powers. I came up with the team name then. It’s been about 3 years since then, so coming up with a new name is going to be tricky, teaching myself to use it is going to be extremely difficult.

To answer your question B. Mac, yeah, this is the same story. The chapter refers to the guys facing off against a superpowered MMA fighter in exchange for her help. I’m still working on chapter titles (so far, I’ve thought of “Jake Versus…” and “Jake Beckett in…”). If you have any suggestions, I’d like them.

I think “Jake vs. [interesting antagonist]” is much more effective for a chapter title than the novel title. By that point, the reader will probably know (or be able to surmise) something about Jake. With “Jake vs. the Crimson Baroness,” not so much. Also, the antagonists in your chapter titles generally had more interesting/funny names than the Crimson Baroness.

I managed to discover this site a few days ago and have been lurking about every since. I am very impressed with what I’ve found here and hope to be hanging around a bit more. =)

I have a YA superhero novel I’m working on that’s geared mainly towards females, 12-16. Actually, it’s a series and the first book has been finished for about a year now. But I really want to rewrite it . . . as I’m writing the second novel in the series. (Stupid, perhaps. But I’m known for multitasking when it comes to my writing.)

Anyways, what do you think of the title: “Bolt from the Blue”? The general premise of the book is about a high school girl who doubles as the (male) superhero, Volt. However her family (who doesn’t know that she’s a super) has decided to move to the suburbs of Indiana. The first book in the series is about her coming to terms with who she is outside of a superhero, how she is handling The City’s reaction to Volt’s mysterious disappearance, and the introduction to another super within that town. She also manages to stumble upon a mystery that is making star athletes fall ill.

Well I can’t use main character names because there are several main characters in each book, so I decided to differentiate each novel in a different way. In the world I’ve built for supers, “emerald,” “amethyst,” and “sapphire” are different eye colors that have different specific meanings of the type of super. I know it isn’t very informative, which is why I included the overall series title.

Will each novel represent a different superhero? What is the main target audience for this story? If it’s primarily targeted towards young females, then the title may work, but I don’t know if that title would appeal to many males.

I see. However, if your title only makes sense after reading the book, what do you have that will entice your reader to pick it up in the first place? Your title is one of the first things a reader will see, so it’s important to choose wisely.

In each novel, the focus is a different type of superhero. It’s pretty hard to explain so I’ll just leave it at emerald means hero and sapphire means villain and amethyst is way too hard to describe. The target audience is YA both males and females. I get what you mean about the jewel thing not appealing to males, but I’m terrible at naming things. I was hoping that the title wouldn’t matter a whole lot to prospective publishers and that they would have no qualms about changing it, but I don’t know.

As for Bolt from the Blue, I love it. Based on title alone, it’s definitely a book I would be interested in checking out.

Hm… The first book is basically about a team of heroes and a team of villains that have to work together to complete a deal that they made. The deal is that the heroes will help the villains find the origin of their powers and discover why they were forced into a life of evil, and the villains will help the heroes to solve a string of bizarre serial murders. The hero sidekick, Aidan, and the villain sidekick, Elle, end up falling in love. Both Aidan and Elle eventually end up discovering that their emerald eyes mean they are hereditary heroes. Everyone except the Aidan solves the murder case while he is busy remembering his past, which he lost to another super’s memory tampering power. He realizes that the other heroes captured the wrong murderer, and it is actually the woman he thought was his hero. The woman confronts them and a big battle ensues. She dies. Aidan proposes to Elle in the hospital later. When Aidan meets his family, he also meets his younger sister who has sapphire eyes, which are the symbol of a hereditary villain.
Well that’s the first book in a nutshell, anyway.

I don’t think “Save the Day” is distinct enough. I think some readers will guess that it’s a superhero story, but how will you distinguish yourself from other superhero stories?

Generally, I think it’s more important for the book titles to be interesting and descriptive than it is for the book series. (For example, “Temeraire” would make a pretty awful individual title, but it’s an okay name for the series that includes “His Majesty’s Dragon”). With that in mind, I don’t see the gems making an effective pitch by themselves. Wings is right that they would not mean very much to prospective readers.

What would you think about something like “Dealing with the Villain”? I think that hints at the unusually cooperative relationship between the heroes and villains. Variations on the word “flirting” keep coming to mind, probably because it suggests the romantic angle. Maybe something like “Flirting with Evil” or “Flirting with [Elle’s Supervillain Name],” if it’s clear that it’s a villainous name. (I don’t know what her super-name is, but I think a title like “Flirting with Doctor Apocalypse” sounds interesting). For a more comedic tone, maybe something like “Rule One: Never Fall for the Villain.”

By the way: if the romantic angle is really important, I would suggest thinking about making Elle the lead rather than Aidan, because I feel that male novel readers (especially non-adults) are REALLY not keen on romance. I am woefully unknowledgeable about romance books, but the ones I’m familiar with tend to be from the lady’s POV. Noted literary scholar Dave Chappelle lays out one theory for that (caution: not safe for work).

That’s really helpful. Thank you for the advice.
The characters don’t have costumes or super-names. It’s much more of a supers-in-the-real-world type of thing where heroes are seen as public figures, like police officers or something, working for a superhero government division called the SHA. As for the romance, it isn’t the main focus of the book so I don’t know if I want to make the title about that aspect. I’m also afraid of making the title from a certain character’s point of view (For instance Flirting with Evil would be from Aidan’s point of view) because each chapter switches off and is told from first person by a different character. The books are very comedic, but as the trilogy progresses the tone gets darker (while still retaining the comedy).

Does it matter to publishers if I have an amazing and creative title? I know that there is a large chance that they will change the title anyway, but will my manuscript be rejected more quickly without a catching title? Because I’m really terrible at naming things. Really terrible. I’ve been thinking of titles for almost two years with no real luck.

Hello, Cassandra. I’m not really sold on “Bolt from the Blue” because I don’t think it says enough about your story in particular. (I think that is frequently the case with titles that are preexisting expressions). It suggests that there’s something surprising going on in this story, but I think it could say more. For example, what’s the hero like? What’s the antagonist like? Conflict? Premise/setting? What’s at stake?

I love the premise (the superhero being forced to move away because her parents did), by the way. “She also manages to stumble upon a mystery that is making star athletes fall ill.” But there haven’t been star athletes in Indiana since Joe Montana graduated! 😉

“I know that there is a large chance that they will change the title anyway, but will my manuscript be rejected more quickly without a catching title? Because I’m really terrible at naming things. Really terrible. I’ve been thinking of titles for almost two years with no real luck.”

A strong title would certainly help. With a higher-than-99% rejection rate across the industry, publishers don’t need much reason to skip to the next manuscript.

Having said that, works with godawful titles get published every day, albeit not so often by first-time authors. (The quality of the title matters more to new authors because they usually rely more on impulse buys from bookstore customers than their established audience or name recognition).

In your case, I’d recommend finishing the manuscript. If you’d like, I can read through the manuscript and suggest a few.

Ha hah! I’d like to think that Indiana can hold it’s own in athletics.

I chose the title a long time ago and it kind of just stuck. (Also, every since that movie “Bolt” came out, I’ve been afraid that even her super name: Volt is too similar, but I can’t will myself to change that just yet.) It mostly has to do with her powers, being as they are of the electrical sort. I titled the second book: A Lasting Storm, keeping with the weather with titles. I envy people who come across them naturally; I def. over-think names and titles both.

So far as titles go, I don’t usually like ones that have to do with locations or using a person’s name. I feel kind of cheesy enough with the word “blue” in the title I currently have, seeing as the MC dyed her hair blue in her first real act of teenaged rebellion when her parents told her she had to move.

The hero tends to have an overly-arrogant view of herself and an overly-high view on justice. She also tends to hold a bit of a double-standard and thinks that because she’s a super, she’s superior. Throughout the book, though, she begins to change after experiencing a life outside of being a super (which is all her life consisted of before).

There is also family conflict as she learns to relate to her mother, who didn’t seem to care about her when she was young, and deals with her father who still would rather ignore her. She has some relationship issues; particularly dealing with one guy who she likes, but doesn’t feel like she can share her secret to. And another who is a super, so she can relate to him in a way she’s never related to any other person before.

As I said before, the major conflict in the story has to do with athletics mysteriously falling ill. Adaline (the hero) believes that her father’s company has something to do with the illnesses (and no, this isn’t one of those: your father is secretly evil stories); whereas, the other super in town thinks she’s making it all up in her head because she thinks she’ll be able to go back to The City if the company turns out to be evil.

That basically sums up what I consider to be the important aspects of this tale.

Alexea, I think the premise of your story sounds really amazing. It sounds like something I would enjoy reading. Although also a bit intimidating to write, because it takes a lot of skill to pull off a story with multiple main characters and still have the readers love and relate to each of them enough to be committed to the series.

As does yours, Cassandra. Yours sounds like it would be a really fun read! But I’m a sucker for superhero anything. If you wanted to stay with the Bolt from the Blue title, have you considered making it Volt from the Blue? I think that would be really cool.

Yeah, the first draft I wrote was all plot no characters, but since then I’ve learned a lot more about writing and I think the reader should be able to love and relate to the main characters. I really over-emphasize their unique personalities. Or I tried to, anyway. It’s really interesting how characters can get away from you, isn’t it? I love that about writing. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like my story actually happened to these people and I’m just the scribe.
Maybe I’m crazy.

I agree it’s probably too wordy. I think it could also be a bit more stylish– details might help. For example, if the Lessons Learned are important enough to mention, what are some of the lessons she learns? Pretty much every new superhero learns something, so I think it would help to distinguish your story in that regard. I think it would help establish the character’s development arc.

Some common development arcs that come to mind include…
Immaturity -> maturity
Idealism -> cynicism (or naive -> practical, if the reader is meant to approve)
Irresponsibility -> selflessness (“with great powers comes great responsibility”)
Irresponsibility -> reliability
Isolation -> social success (or vice versa)–preferably something about the character changes that makes him more/less socially integrated.

Hi, I’m currently writing a story and I’m thinking about sending it to a publisher. (Sorry for all mistakes, I’m usually writing in German, but your tips are very helpful!)
I wanted to name my story “once blue planet”, but I’m not sure anymore. Titles are harder to chose than expected.

The story takes place on earth about 200 years in the future. There is only one “real” city left, because life has become nearly impossible on the planet. This city suffers under a terrible dictatorship of a government, authorized by the council of galaxies. (Not sure how to translate everything to English.)
The story is about a woman, grown up in this city, who gets the chance to escape from earth. But she can’t return and so tries everything to save her family and city, freeing it from the dictatorship.

That sounds a little bit mary-sue by now, but I think her character and the actual storyline prevent this from happening.

As a newbie, I would really appreciate your help. I don’t expect the story to be published, but it’s always worth a try.

thanks everyone, this really helps. Mentioning the city itself in the title is a pretty good idea… I didn’t think of that.
@McKenzie: your translation is right and so is your german, as far as I can see. And I really like that one, it’s my favourite idea by now, thank you!

Would the Nyx Resistance be a good title for a story about the US disbanding, leaving every city to control itself, and a group of teenagers who live in one city, now completely controlled by a mob? They call themselves the Nyx Resistance…

The title’s fine, but I think the post-apocalyptic young adult niche is getting a bit crowded… I’d recommend making sure that the characters and conflicts feel unique, particularly compared to (say) Hunger Games and its many knockoffs.

I’m thinking of a series, three novel to begin with.
1: Heroes, The Black Highlight
2: Heroes, The Nano Technology
3: Heroes, The Destruction
I’m sorry for my bad English, I’m not from America, neither from the U.K.

The story is about a young man, who looks to be at least in his late teenagers, getting arrested by the NYPD, and from there tells his story, starting over ten years before he got to the Police Department. They are from 2019, but he tells the story from 2005 and upwards, giving them piece by piece why he isn’t the villain. The last book, of course, is about the destruction of the last fight he was in.
This boy is no genius. He is fit, he played American footbal (?) at school, and he was also in the chess club, but never won any match. He’s got bright friends, though.

–I would recommend renaming the series to something more distinct. There may also be copyright issues given that there was a major TV franchise of the same name.

–I’d recommend more distinct book titles. For example, instead of The Destruction, maybe something like [Unusual Modifier] Destruction. For example, one title I really liked recently was Play Dead, because playing and dead contrast emotionally. (Also, U.S. football refs halt the game by calling plays “dead,” and it is a story about a football team of zombies, so there’s some wordplay there). Instead of The Nanotechnology, which I think only tells us that it’s a sci-fi story, I’d recommend throwing in a modifier which hints at what’s at stake or develops a character or accomplishes something else which makes readers interested. For example, I have one comic book issue tentatively titled Chemical Enlightenment because I think it does a better job hinting at the villain’s goals and methods than, say, something like The Chemistry would.

–May I ask why you chose an American setting and an exceptionally American sport if you are not an American? (It’s an interesting choice, but if you’re not comfortable enough with football to spell it comfortably, it might be difficult to incorporate any football into the plot naturally).

–The premise sort of reminds me of a superpowered The Usual Suspects, which could be interesting (although I think the premise will cause the story to hinge more on drama/suspense than on action).

1) It sounds a lot like “Fifty Shades of Gray” or “A Million Shades of Gray.” I’d assume it’s a romance about a naif going after a mysterious and probably creepy older guy.

2) It could be more distinctive to your story. For example, if your story is about superheroes, it’d probably be really helpful to suggest as much, preferably establishing something which separates your story from other superhero stories. For example, I think “Captain Freedom: A Superhero’s Search for Truth, Justice, and the Celebrity He So Richly Deserves” and “Soon I Will Be Invincible” and “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” do a really good job establishing what kind of superhero story they are.

3) I think it’d be helpful to incorporate more about the main character, the main character’s goal, and/or what’s at stake.

4) In terms of establishing a bleak and/or morally conflicted plot, I think the imagery could be more interesting. For example, I really like “The Silence of the Lambs” and “When the Wind Blows.”

Sakita: I think “On the Path of Peace Lies Blood” or “Blood on the Path of Peace” would sound better as an English title, but if the title won’t be in English, you’d be better off asking someone who speaks the language that the title is in.

Yeah, I’d recommend speaking to a French author, Sakita. I wouldn’t be much help when it comes to phrasing a title in French. I may be able to help with concepts, though. Whether the title is in French or English, I’m not sure that a bloody path to peace distinguishes your story very well. It may help to come up with a title which indicates something unusual and interesting about the protagonist, the plot, and/or premise.

If I had to do a minor rephrase of the title in English, “The Path to Peace is Slick With Blood” comes to mind.

Here’s my current title: The Shapeshifter
Alternate title: The Creator’s Curse
Table of contents:
A Curse Enacted
Of Sisters and Daemons
The Fairy Unseen
Three Worlds, One Daemon
An Improper Sacrifice
Violet
Torn
The Devil’s Son (Not!)
Kitten Special-Ops
Out of it, Briefly
Subconscious
Switched
Holding Sparks
Araby
World War Three
Spark
It Wasn’t Global Warming
Glossary

The glossary has (made up) words and their definitions. It is alphabetized. I was thinking of explaining Jasmine’s internal structure and other minute differences between her and humans (like she has nuclei in her red blood cells, and they shapeshift into platelets and white blood cells when needed), but I decided that I can sneak those details into the story.

Example from Glossary:

skeleton shield-like a focus, but made of two canes of bamboo crossed, it channels magic into a square shield shape with up to four “blades”, spears of magic, one on each end of the skeleton shield

We’re up to 72 superhero movies since 2000 (current as of November 2017). You can download the full data here. Some observations: R movies are making up the quality gap with PG-13 movies. Superhero movies are improving. Over the last 5 years (2013-2017), the average superhero movie is averaging 70% on Rotten Tomatoes, up […]

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I spent 5 hours this week watching Man of Steel and taking 5,000 words of notes. It was like being trapped on an alien planet where the atmosphere consists 80% of characters telling Clark what incredible, grandiose things he symbolizes, 20% of daringly bad action scenes, 15% of grimly constipated expressions, and 15% of acting […]

Out of the Past is a 1947 noir thriller so brilliant I cannot do it justice. I would definitely recommend it, particularly if you’re working with… Characters Plots Accidental deaths falsely claimed as murder-suicides Double-crosses, triple-crosses, and maybe a quadruple-cross depending on how you interpret a self-defense kill with a fishing reel. A complex plot […]